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ABOUT WU MAN
Wu Man belongs to a rare group of musicians who have redefined the role of their instruments, in her case, the pipa, a pear-shaped, four-stringed Chinese lute with a rich history spanning centuries. Not only is she recognized as the foremost pipa player in the United States, but she is also celebrated as an accomplished composer, educator, and one of the most prominent instrumentalists of traditional Chinese music. She has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa, while spearheading multimedia projects to both preserve and create awareness of China’s ancient musical traditions. Her adventurous spirit and virtuosity have led to collaborations across artistic disciplines, allowing her to reach wider audiences as she works to cross cultural and musical borders.
Wu Man has performed in solo recitals, with major orchestras, and at festivals around the world. She regularly collaborates with ensembles such as the Kronos Quartets and The Knights, and is a founding member of the Silkroad Ensemble. She has appeared on nearly 50 recordings, including numerous Grammy Award-winning and -nominated albums. Wu Man has premiered works by renowned composers including Tan Dun, Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, Zhao Jiping, Lei Liang, Terry Riley, Bright Sheng, and Chen Yi. Most recently, she premiered Du Yun’s pipa concerto Ears of the Book with The Knights at Carnegie Hall, followed by performances with the Detroit and New Haven Symphonies, and will perform the concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra during the 2025-26 season.
Wu Man’s accolades include the 2023 National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), one of the highest honors in folk and traditional arts, as well as the Asia Society’s 2023 Asia Arts Game Changers Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to contemporary art. In 2021, she received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the New England Conservatory and an Honorary University Fellowship from Hong Kong Baptist University. She was also named Musical America’s 2013 "Instrumentalist of the Year," the first time this prestigious award was given to a player of a non-Western instrument.
Born in Hangzhou, China, Wu Man studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she became the first recipient of a master's degree in pipa. At age 13, she was recognized as a child prodigy and a national role model for young pipa players. She is currently a Visiting Professor at her alma mater the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and a Distinguished Professor at the Zhejiang and the Xi'an Conservatories. For more information visit wumanpipa.org.
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